Data collection instruments

The selected instruments (class journals, logs, video recording and surveys) for the post - implementation stage allowed researchers to collect detailed information with a small amount of interference in the class. The researchers adjusted these instruments to the curriculum contents in both Science and English subjects, and were designed to collect qualitative as well as

quantitative data in order to triangulate and validate the information.

3.4.1 Descriptions and justifications 3.4.1.1 Journals

Journals are a complete information source when teachers, learners, or both, write their insights and personal reactions. Teachers and students reflect upon themselves and others’

development of a certain activity or strategy as cited in Mertler (2008). Journals are reliable and allow the researcher or participants to reflect upon the events after data collection. The teacher’s journal includes the individual perceptions about the lessons, learners’ changes, and the subject of this study. Their insights are fundamental for the analysis of videos and surveys because they establish contextual basis to analyze the collected data.

Other studies about interaction on young learners such as Monsalve & Correal (2009) implemented field notes for four months in order to observe and write down the significant information and changes. However, we decided to carry out a similar procedure by using journals in order to jot down our perceptions and impressions regarding the learners’ spoken fluency progress and content. These instruments were designed to collect qualitative as well as quantitative data in order to triangulate and validate the information.

3.4.1.2 Video recording

It is a useful resource that offers a registry of the spoken fluency of the student with natural occurring data. Likewise, it provides the study with non-verbal communication and conventions, ‘invisible’ phenomena mentioned by Jewitt (2012), which would add validity to the journal’s notes.

Video recordings help to compare different stages of the study and to give details about the context. It can be adapted to different scenarios according to the strategies related to the pedagogical intervention. Its real-time sequential record, durability, malleability, and

share-ability make it more appropriate. In addition, it lets us record how the learners’ fluency has or has not improved, we can revive and see the scenes over and over to identify the learners’

progress in detail. We decided to record a mid-term progress session and the last session where learners presented their plant life cycle experiment and poster in order to observe and interpret the possible changes of the learners’ spoken fluency. As in Monsalve & Correal (2009), video recordings were applied to collect data on children’s oral production. This instrument allowed us to gather learners’ oral performance in real action, to observe again, what occurred in reference to linguistics or affective aspects when learners were speaking, and to supplement or contrast the data collected by the other instruments.

3.4.1.3 Logs

Logs are documents where participants jot down their perceptions of the tasks performed during the sessions. As claimed by McKernan & Ireland (2013), “logs record essentials of human behavior” (p.110). Logs are a practical and simple tool to understand and follow by young

learners. In this study, each learner kept a log at the end of each class and they were asked to write their perceptions concerning learning, fluency, interaction, and participation improvement.

(6.6Appendix G:). Additionally, logs gave us the opportunity to organize the data into a chart from the beginning until the end.

3.4.1.4 Surveys

The purpose of surveys is to provide researchers with statistics of the target population characteristics and ask questions to collect (Floyd & Fowler, 2014). They facilitate the accuracy of the data by formulating precise questions. A survey is a flexible instrument that can be applied one or several times to the whole or just part of the participants. They are used as a complement of journals and video recordings because they are focused on asking for some information that

none of the other chosen instruments can provide. In addition, surveys were important for this study because we could gather the learners’ opinions and perceptions about their own learning process. Learners were to answer specific statements to prove their awareness of their spoken fluency changes, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the activities used during this project.

Other studies decided to apply interviews to gather information about the learners’

reflection on the topic of the projects. We considered this instrument was time-consuming due to the transcription process and the amount of participants. Thus, surveys were the suitable

instrument to gather and analyze information about the learners’ perceptions on their spoken fluency progress in a more efficient way. Participants were asked to answer a mid-term survey and a final survey in order to contrast the possible spoken fluency changes and content

knowledge these young learners had throughout the pedagogical intervention.

3.4.2 Validation and piloting

Tutors from Universidad de La Sabana and colleagues from the institutions revised the instruments to prove their effectiveness. This validating process helped the researchers polish the instruments by changing irrelevant and difficult questions to understand by young learners. The piloting process of the survey was conducted with first graders from the bilingual school and the public school. We noticed that some questions were still difficult and vague to understand by children so it was necessary to modify questions to make the instruments clearer. The video recording rubric and the journal format were selected based on specific features for the nature of the study and were approved by the institution for validation purposes.

3.5 Conclusion

The linguistic needs of students were related to the improvement of their spoken fluency taking into account their English level. For that reason, we implemented different steps to

develop this project. First, the decision of the type of study for the purpose of this project.

Second, the establishment of the researchers’ roles. Third, the consent from parents and institutions, as part of the Ethical considerations, and fourth, the instruments design and their implementation. The following chapter describes in detail the procedures of the previously presented theory as practical classroom activities, and their effect on the spoken fluency and speaking skills of the students.

Chapter 4: Pedagogical Intervention and Implementation